Order of Crown Paladins of the Hallowed Lutheran Rose
The Order of Crown Paladins of the Hallowed Lutheran Rose, or the Rose Paldins for short, is a chivalric order originally founded to serve the House of Rothingren-Traugott and as a Hulstrian Lutheran Religious Order. The Order is spread across the world, with active Lodges in several nations. Much of the Order's leadership are members of Terra's various Noble Houses. =Historic Order= The Palaldins of the Rose, were first established in 1650, shortly after the coronation of Franz I of Hulstria, as Emperor. Established at the petition of Lutheran monks by a proclaimation of the Emperor, Imperial Charter Seven, the Order operated out of a chapel attached to Phönixstein Castle, its first Grand Master was, Ernst von Henschen. The Order's mission statement was: When the Imperial Family relocated to Fliederbrunn Palace, in Kien, the Order followed. The Order's size and influence grew as Hulstria did, and with in a decade, it became clear that the Order could no longer be housed in an annex to the Imperial Palace. Therefore in 1688, Maximilian I order the construction of a new monastery for the Order to headquarter itself at. Designed by famed Hulstrian architect, Sigismund von Vorm, Rose Abbey (Hulstrian: Stift Rose), was completed in 1704, outside of Kien, Hulstria, Greater Hulstria. The Abbey was almost destroyed in 1733, during the War of Hulstrian Succession. The Order remained loyal to Henrietta I of Hulstria and many memebers played key roles as officers in the her army. As a result of this, her oppenents saw the possibilty in of destruction of the Orders heaquarters a show of superiority. The Abbey was taken by anti-Henriettian force on March 7, 1733, only to be recovered by Loyalist troops three weeks later. =Great Dark Period= The Paladins of the Rose continued to act as the Imperial Guard to the Hulstrian Imperial Family for the existance of the Hulstrian Empire. With the assasination of Maximilian V, in 2117, which signaled the beginning of the Great Dark Period, the Order became the last bastion of Hulstrian Monarchism. Because of the anarchy thoughout Hulstria that followed Maximilian's death, Rose Abbey became the a fortress acting as the seat of power for the whole of Kien. The House of Rothingren fled the Imperial Palace, at the behasting of the Order for the Abbey in 2118, with the Order declaring Marshal Law over the area surrounding Kien shortly there after. It was during this time, that the Pretenders to the Hulstrian Throne temporarily established themselves as hereditary Grand Masters of the Paladins. =Modern Order= The Rothingren's ended their status as hereditary Grand Masters of the Rose Paladins when in 2198 Klaus Gustav III took the throne as Holy Gishoton Emperor. The Order continued its service to the House fo Rothingren, even when they were forced by Communists to flee the country after the assassination of the Klaus Gustav in 2248. It was while the Paladins were serving the House of Rothingren in exile, that the Order began to become open to other sects of Christianity, diverging from its Lutheran founding. While even today the Order is dominanted by Lutherans, several key members from other Christian Faiths. With the restoration of Rudolph III of Hulstria, the Paladins once again retook their traditional role. It was during this period that the Order began to expand outside of Hulstria, establishing Lodges in Kazulia. When Rudolph IV of Hulstria was force from the throne in 2484, the order once again moved with the Rothingrens, this time to the Holy Luthori Empire. Even after Rudolph's son's, Ferdinand I of Hulstria, restoration, the Order maintained an active Lodge in Luthor that purpose was largely to advocate the claim of the House of Rothingren on the Imperial Luthori Throne. With the addition of the Luthori, Trigunian, and Aldurian thrones to the one's held by the House of Rothingren, the Order spread its ranks into Alduria & Trigunia. =Grand Crusade= In the 2650s the order became increasingly upset over the situation in the Holy Land. The Jewish Government of Beiteynu had made several moves that the Order felt threaten the Christian populations of the Holy Land. The first of these concerns was the resfusal of the Jewish Government to allow self-governence for the Christians of Gran Tadraki, and area claimed by Pontesi that is made up of Endild and Tadraki. The Order had originally supported giving the region to Pontesi, however with the fall of the Imperial Government the Order began to advocate the creation of an independent Gran Tadraki. Of equal distress for the Order was the continued threat of violence against Pntek Protectorates with in Beiteynu by the Jewish Government. The final qualm with the sitting Beiteynuese government the Rose Paladins had was their refusal to return New Jerusalem, a heavily Christian refugee camp to Luthor. In 2686, the Order brought these issues before Emperor Heinrich I. They requested he call upon all of Holy Christendom to launch a Crusade to the Holy Land to restore the right of all Christians. On Christmas Day, 2686, Heinrich issued the Supplication of Fliederbrunn: The Rose Paladins were joined on their Crusade by the Holy Knights of St. Richard, from Luthor, the Catholic Order of Sacrifice and Pain, and the Protestant Order of Divine Serenity, Crusaders representing the exiled Narikatonite Royal Family. =Headquarters= While the Rose Paladins maintain active Lodges in six different countries only three have established Headquarters. Rose Abbey in Kien, Greater Hulstria continues to as the International Headquarters for the Order (as well as the regional headquarters from Greater Hulstria and Kazulia) with Frost Abbey, in Heinrichgrad, Chadonia serving as the Trigunian Lodges' regional headquarters, and Thorn Abbey in Yishalem, Endild as the headquarters for Beiteynu, Luthor, and Alduria. Rose Abbey Originally designed by Sigismund von Vorm, Rose Abbey is the International Headquarters of the Paladins of Rose. Historically it was the seat of the Grand Master, until the Grand Crusade when that distinction was move to Thorn Abbey. Rose Abbey is the largest and oldest Abbey in Hulstria and also serves as a University, recognized as the Lutheran University of the Rose, or Rose University for short. The Abbey grounds also serve as the train facility for those members of the Order who go on to serve in the Emperor's Guard, or as officers in His Majesty's Military. Category:Greater Hulstria Category:Lutheranism